Decreased fertility in men is often associated with decreased quantity or quality of sperm. You need enough sperm of sufficiently high physical endurance and fitness to accomplish the mission of fertilizing an egg.
So What Affects Sperm?
Beyond sperm quality and quantity, you and your physician will want to rule out the presence or absence of varicoceles, ductal obstructions, or an ejaculatory disorder.
High and low thyroid conditions, low testosterone levels, and other hormone imbalances may also affect fertility Certain drugs, including, but not limited to, glucocorticoids (like prednisone), nitrofurantoin, phenytoin, and sulfasalazine can decrease both sperm motility and production, or both.
Recent research has shown that male sperm counts are indeed declining, and such environmental factors as exogenous estrogens (estrogens made from sources outside of the body), heavy metals, and pesticides affect the development of sperm, as discussed earlier in this chapter.
Improving Sperm Motility and Morphology
Fortunately there are numerous ways to support overall health as the body attempts to combat these hostile forces. Many nutrients have been shown to help both sperm motility and sperm count. These include, but are not limited to:
- Arginine (an amino acid)
- Glutathione
- Vitamin C
- Carnitine (an amino acid)
- Selenium
- Vitamin E
- Coenzyme Q10
- Vitamin B12
- Zinc
Keep in mind that when you’re trying to enhance fertility the process of identifying the cause may be a multistage process. It’s like trying to get more horsepower out of an engine; it takes fine-tuning and some patience to get things humming. While it’s important for your overall health to identify the causes of lowered fertility, counteracting them will help you maximize longevity and overall quality of life.
Improving Your Sperm and Fertility
Let’s review the number of sperm a man needs to produce to be fertile. An average normal semen sample typically has a volume of 1.5 to 5 milliliters (ml), with an average of 50 to 100 million sperm per milliliter, with 20 million being the minimum for adequate fertility. The number of abnormal sperm need to be less than 40 percent, with at least 30 percent demonstrating they can swim in a straight line and not chase their tails (remember: sperm look like tadpoles).
Keep in mind that the process of sperm analysis is still being refined. An interesting report in 1992 showed that 52 percent of men with sperm counts below 20 million per millilter were able to impregnate their wives and 40 percent of men with counts below l0 million per milliliter were also able to impregnate their spouses.
Over the last decade there have been advances in sperm count analysis. Tests with a slightly higher predictive value of fertility include the postcoital test, which measures the ability of sperm to penetrate cervical mucus, and the hamster-egg penetration test, which determines the ability of sperm to penetrate hamster eggs. The latter test offers a more accurate reflection of true fertility than a traditional sperm analysis, since it measures the ability of the sperm to successfully complete the goal of egg penetration.
FertilAid for Men
Click Here to Learn More About FertilAId for Men
FertilAid for Men is an all natural male fertility supplement designed by Dr. Amos Gruenbaum.
It has been clinically proven in studies to improve both sperm motility and morphology by 20% after use.
Completely naturally, FertilAid for Men has absolutely no side effects and contains 100% or more of the RDA of vitamins and minerals for men.
FertilAid for Men also contains ingredients such as maca, zinc, l carnitine, grape seed extract and asian ginseng extract that have been proven to help improve sperm.
NOTE: Because sperm takes 90 days (3 months) to fully mature, make sure you take FertilAid for men for at least 3 months for maximum results.
Click Here to learn more about FertilAid for Men
Our Recommended Male Infertility Treatments
* FertilAid for Men Clinically Proven Natural Male Fertility Supplement. Click Here to Learn More.
* Organic Fertility Bible Bestselling Male (and Female) Infertility Program. Click Here to Learn More.
